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Sunday, May 28, 2017

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Two Donation Quilts

Both 40 x 60

Both are safari or maybe jungle themed. I had a bunch of different sized Happy Blocks that loosely fit that theme. I had more than enough for one quilt but not enough for two. So I rooted through my novelty squares and...

...made a few more blocks so I had enough for two quilts.

For the first one I dug through scraps that were kind of wild or jungley and framed all 10 of the blocks in the outer columns so they were 12 inches square. For the middle 5 blocks I framed them so they were 14 inches wide and 12 inches in length. This was so I would have my total 40 inches in width for the quilt.

Once I had all the various sized blocks ready I just sewed the columns together.

I quilted it with some rudimentary jungle leaves on my DSM

For the backing I used some flannel with monkeys. For the binding I used up all the black/black background pieces of binding from the leftover bindings box.

For the second quilt I used some orange solid leftover from a quilt I made someone with leukemia. Orange is the color of the leukemia awareness ribbon. I had some brown solid leftover from making a quilt back and I had some green solid my daughter brought me from a box of garage sale odds and ends. As you can see I alternately bordered the eight inch Happy Blocks with orange and brown on two sides only with some 2.5 inch strips to bring them up to 10 inches (finished).

I quilted the square areas with some rudimentary leaves and loopy vines but decided to try some curvy jungle vines in the orange and brown areas (to tone down that orange???) in brown. I had some bobbins in brown machine quilting thread I wanted to use up. I never tried jungle vines before and I definitely need to work on them but I think they will do.

On the back it looks like these flannel monkeys are swinging from the vines. I bound this one in green like the corner stones in the front of the quilt. That used up the garage sale green and most of that orange. I still have some brown left to use in another kid's quilt and I think I have some teddy bear bits and pieces and some brown polka dot scraps to go with that.

While sewing I normally don't listen to anything except the marbles rolling around in my head and nature sounds outside my window but for some reason I kept hearing strains of The Lion Sleeps Tonight over and over and over in my head.

It has been raining and raining and raining and raining so I can't get out to work in the garden for any long spells so I've spent my time quilting up most of the kid's donation tops I've had sitting here. Now I'm once again out of batting and almost out of kid's quilt tops and backings so I will have to move on to something else when it rains (or have an excuse to start something new?)

Oh these quilts will be just loved...thanks for the charity linkies...I often find songs running through my head as I put a quilt together ("...Are the Stars out tonight, I don't know if it's cloudy or bright...") ;)))hugs, Julierose

You are so clever at creating quilts with blocks that you have stashed away and enlarging those blocks to create a quilt the exact size you want. Very impressive. Both quilts are great, and will be well received I'm sure. PS I had a piece of the orange and white hippo fabric, won in a Giveaway and now almost gone, the odd 2.5" square left!

I love your jungle vine quilting! I'm going to have to get more adventurous, that's for sure. Great quilts! And if you have to have a song stuck in your head, that's not a bad one at all! Today I basted my flag quilt to the tune (in my head) of Grand Old Flag. That, of course, took me back to my flag twirling days and the routine we did to that song.... OMG, I think I understand now how old folks' minds work...